On a Path to Spiritual Enlightenment

Chapter 1

My Loved Ones Are with Me

beyond the veil

I hear your tears—

la mia innamorata

I hadn’t been well for a few days. A severe headache resulting in an overwhelming feeling of melancholy and aloneness had drained me physically and prompted me to remain in bed. While in and out of sleep, I saw Bambina, my puppy and constant companion of fourteen years. She lay beside me in bed. I petted her silky, blonde fur. She licked my face with her wet puppy tongue. It felt like a morning in my young adulthood; its familiarity brought on a bit of nostalgia.

I’d better get up and walk her, I thought.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d done that, when all at once, I realized Bambina wasn’t alive, and this was a vision.

Within minutes, Joseph, my husband of thirty-eight years, lay behind me, at my other side. Sandwiched between loved ones, I felt Joseph’s arm slide across my waist, the side of his face resting against mine. He whispered, “Cucciola” (Italian for puppy) in my ear. I smiled and curled into him. All very familiar, perfectly lovely. He spoke telepathically about this and that—pledges of love, remembrances of yesterday—early morning banter. Then he mentioned wanting to call my mom for some reason or other.

Joseph, my mom’s dead.

When the hell did that happen? he thought, exhibiting some surprise at his inability to remember such a momentous event. Although I’d often found his occasional absentmindedness charming, I was certain he knew my mom had passed. He had attended her funeral some thirty years ago. He had seen her on the Other Side. Hadn’t he?

A long time ago, Joseph. Mom’s gone. Bambina’s gone. You’re gone. I’m alone now.

Joseph and Bambina disappeared. Silent static, like an electrical disturbance on a muted TV screen, remained before my eyes.

The vision made me aware that I was loved and appreciated. Joseph and Bambina reminded me that, although I felt alone, I wasn’t. My loved ones were always with me. They were watching over me. Through the subtlest of hints, I perceived that Joseph was guiding me to go on with my life; he, my mom, my puppy, all my loved ones would continue to love and support me. Oddly enough, my headache had eased. I no longer felt alone. I felt loved, protected, and pain free.

Thank you, Joseph, for the necessary and very welcome reminder and the ever so gentle encouragement to forge ahead.

Chapter 2

A Visit to the Beauty Salon

Sparring voices

in nighttime shadows—

pause and step back

I’m surrounded by spirit. Many of my friends and the owners of the small neighborhood businesses I patronize exhibit some form of psychic power. Our hearts are open. We’re positive, honest and genuine people. Spirit is strengthened by our connections with each other. Abundant psychic prowess in proximity facilitates spirit’s ability to breathe and grow.

I went to the beauty salon for a short, sassy cut. No sooner had I walked through the door, than Norma, my hairdresser and the shop’s proprietress, approached and welcomed me effusively. She had a tale that she was eager to tell.

“Remember the last time you were here I told you we were thinking of moving into the apartment above the shop?”

“I do. I thought it was a great idea. It couldn’t be closer to your work. You’d save a lot of time and money not having to drive to and fro, and you could be on call for emergency makeovers and touch-ups.”

“Yes, that’s right. Well, Barbaro and I looked at the apartment. It was lovely. It didn’t take long to decide we would move. We filled out the application and submitted all the necessary paperwork. We were really excited. That same night, you came to me in a dream.”

Norma had piqued my interest. “I did?”

“It was more like a vision, really. Joseph was in the background, in the darkness.”

I interrupted, “But, Norma, you never met Joseph. How did you know it was him?”

“I felt him. He has a kind, caring soul. And he looked exactly as you always described him, ‘tall, handsome, very Italianate, a beautiful silhouette.’ In the vision, he talked to you telepathically, and you told me what he said.”

Norma paused, allowing me to absorb what she was saying.

“Go on, Norma. Go on.”

“Joseph said, ‘The apartment is yours if you want it, but it will come at a cost.’ Then I woke up.”

“Did you understand the vision? Did you know what Joseph meant?”

“Not just then. I thought about it all week. The following week, I got a call from the woman living in the apartment. She said we didn’t qualify. We knew we did. Barbaro and I sat down and talked about it. We’re such believers in the afterlife; it’s like a religion to us. We knew if Joseph took the time to come to us and bring us a message, it had to be important.

“For the next couple of weeks, we kept an ear to the ground in hopes of finding out what was going on, so we could think ahead. One morning while opening the shop, we saw the woman in the street. She was hugging someone we never saw before. They went upstairs together. We came to understand that the woman was holding the apartment for this woman. She was a friend and colleague of hers.

“It was your husband who warned us that something was wrong, Benita. If we had insisted upon moving into the apartment, we would have had much trouble and probably legal battles. Your husband did us a great service by apprising us of forthcoming difficulties and providing us the foresight to come to a reasonable decision and avoid them.”

I got goose bumps. “I’m so glad Joseph was able to help you.”

Norma smiled. “Take your coat off. Make yourself comfortable. Would you like some coffee while I cut your hair?”

“I sure would. Thanks.”

“Barbaro, make Benita a cup of Bustelo. She takes her coffee black.”